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Jul 25, 2011
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and they swept across afghanistan controlling 90% of afghanistan. this fighting eruption -- taliban, al-qaeda -- saw four million refugees into pakistan. the introduction of a gun, kalashnikov, and drug culture. finally in 9/11, the terrible, disastrous terrorist attack on the world trade center and the u.s. military offense e in afghanistan -- offensive in afghanistan, all al-qaeda and taliban ran into the mountains and be cities of pakistan. therefore, ladies and gentlemen, religious mill tap si we saw -- militancy we saw in the east in the indian-held kashmir, religious militancy in afghanistan is followed entirely on -- has fallen entirely on pakistan in the center. this is how religious militancy was introduced. we are not the perpetrators. the situation in pakistan was perfectly normal until 1979, but things started getting disturbed after that for the reasons that i've told. pakistan, therefore, ladies and gentlemen, faces four menaces, i would say. number one is the menace of al-qaeda who are there in our mountains. but i think over time the
and they swept across afghanistan controlling 90% of afghanistan. this fighting eruption -- taliban, al-qaeda -- saw four million refugees into pakistan. the introduction of a gun, kalashnikov, and drug culture. finally in 9/11, the terrible, disastrous terrorist attack on the world trade center and the u.s. military offense e in afghanistan -- offensive in afghanistan, all al-qaeda and taliban ran into the mountains and be cities of pakistan. therefore, ladies and gentlemen, religious mill tap...
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Dec 9, 2011
12/11
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and i look at afghanistan and i see 100,000 troops in afghanistan. and i say this nation should not be nation-building in afghanistan when this nation so desperately needs to be built. you see we have no foreign policy in this country. we are not able to project and reedy the values the we stand for until we fix the core and that is our values and our economy. so under the huntsman administration, i want a foreign policy that recognizes where we are in the second decade into the 21st century. i want a foreign policy that is led first and foremost by economics because it is one thing to secure the premise of the world without the economic benefit and it's another thing to secure the promise of the world while everybody else gets the economic benefit. so it used to break my heart in beijing running the second largest embassy in the world 100,000 troops in afghanistan involved in a counter insurgency when the chinese would go and they would take the mining concession and i would say there's something fundamentally wrong with this picture. ladies and gen
and i look at afghanistan and i see 100,000 troops in afghanistan. and i say this nation should not be nation-building in afghanistan when this nation so desperately needs to be built. you see we have no foreign policy in this country. we are not able to project and reedy the values the we stand for until we fix the core and that is our values and our economy. so under the huntsman administration, i want a foreign policy that recognizes where we are in the second decade into the 21st century. i...
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Sep 23, 2011
09/11
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we're paying for the war in afghanistan. we didn't have to find the offset before we let our troops march in. we didn't have them standing at the border saying stand right here, hold your fire. eric cantor is working on an offset for you. we sent the troops in. we let the bombers go. and we'll figure out how to pay for it later. so i'm telling the republicans in the house, you better think very carefully about this vote. now, senator reid has sent a very good compromise. he said we'll give up our number. we'll take your number on fema. but we are not going to take this offset. now i still think, and i want to say for the record, as the chairman of this committee, $2.6 -- or 3.65 is not going to be enough to get us through all of next year, but it will get us through the next couple of weeks and months. not months. maybe weeks. the government won't shut down. fema will have money to operate, as the leader said. it's not ideal. it's not what is in our bill, which is the best, which is a $6.5 billion level, which will fund not
we're paying for the war in afghanistan. we didn't have to find the offset before we let our troops march in. we didn't have them standing at the border saying stand right here, hold your fire. eric cantor is working on an offset for you. we sent the troops in. we let the bombers go. and we'll figure out how to pay for it later. so i'm telling the republicans in the house, you better think very carefully about this vote. now, senator reid has sent a very good compromise. he said we'll give up...
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Sep 19, 2011
09/11
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if you look at iraq and afghanistan veterans their unemployment rate is 13.3%. among iraq and afghanistan veterans if you look at 18-24-year-olds their unemployment is at 30%. secondly, and i talked a little bit about the guard and reserve is the 100,000 demobilizing this year they are syverring from 14 -- suffering from 14% unemployment. in some rural communities they have 20%-30% unemployment after coming back after serving their country for a year in places like afghanistan and iraq. thirdly, the president announced a couple months ago we have to bring 33,000 additional troops back to afghanistan, and we all know that there are plans in the works now to significantly draw down the armed forces. well, if you take all those things together and look at the populations we just talked about, the number is going to grow to 1.1 to 1.2 million and that is not acceptable. why else did the chamber get involved? first of all, many of our members want to hire veterans small companies, medium sized companies, big companies want to hire veterans. before i took this job, i
if you look at iraq and afghanistan veterans their unemployment rate is 13.3%. among iraq and afghanistan veterans if you look at 18-24-year-olds their unemployment is at 30%. secondly, and i talked a little bit about the guard and reserve is the 100,000 demobilizing this year they are syverring from 14 -- suffering from 14% unemployment. in some rural communities they have 20%-30% unemployment after coming back after serving their country for a year in places like afghanistan and iraq....
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Jul 25, 2011
07/11
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part -- the other factor is that we are now drawing down the cost of our military efforts in afghanistan and iraq. last year we spent a little over $150 billion. this year we'll spend a little over $100 billion. and the plan is to soon be down to at least $50 billion in two or three years. so over the ten-year period there'll be about eight years at nearly $50 billion or so spent on the war instead of $150 billion. that's part of the plan that we've been operating on for a long time. $150 billion for the war is not baseline expenditure of the united states. it was never projected to continue at that level, so hopefully we could bring it below $50 billion. maybe we went get to $50 billion. i don't know. but what is the reasonable estimate? i think the house republicans and the president said it would drop to $50 billion, and that would be the baseline out there for the rest of the time. that's $1 trillion. that's $1 trillion. so you take $1 trillion out of the $2.7 trillion, you're down to $1.7 trillion. and another thing that's scored in that, since that $1 trillion in war costs is score
part -- the other factor is that we are now drawing down the cost of our military efforts in afghanistan and iraq. last year we spent a little over $150 billion. this year we'll spend a little over $100 billion. and the plan is to soon be down to at least $50 billion in two or three years. so over the ten-year period there'll be about eight years at nearly $50 billion or so spent on the war instead of $150 billion. that's part of the plan that we've been operating on for a long time. $150...
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Nov 17, 2011
11/11
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s in afghanistan. a related provision would provide enhanced audit authority to assist in the enforcement of this provision. it authorizes over $13 billion for new construction of critical facility projects that have a direct impact on the readiness and operations of our military while also providing much-needed construction jobs in a struggling economy. in contrast to these enhams and new authorities, the committee also had to make some very difficult decisions. the president's budget request of $553 billion was cut by nearly $27 billion in recognition of the difficult budget situation our country faces. these difficult funding reductions include $10 billion cut in the operation and maintenance accounts for the military services used to fund readiness and training activities. this was done mainly by scaling back the growth in service contracts while also reducing serp accounts for daily operating activities and training. a $9.8 billion cut in defense procurement accounts for programs that had more mon
s in afghanistan. a related provision would provide enhanced audit authority to assist in the enforcement of this provision. it authorizes over $13 billion for new construction of critical facility projects that have a direct impact on the readiness and operations of our military while also providing much-needed construction jobs in a struggling economy. in contrast to these enhams and new authorities, the committee also had to make some very difficult decisions. the president's budget request...
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May 2, 2011
05/11
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president obama insisted that we refocus on afghanistan and pakistan as the center of battlefields in our fight against terrorism. there was tremendous military, diplomatic and economic efforts are the reason we woke up this morning to the world that is no longer home to osama bin laden. the end of his life is not the end of the fight. yesterday's operation is indeed a measure of justice. it is only one measure of justice. it absolutely is a definitive victory but it does not define absolute victory. america welcomes the success of our fellow citizens' extraordinary mission. even as we breathe a sigh of relief, though, we're not relieved of our duty to be vigilant, to be persistent and defeat our enemy and to make our nation stronger. the leader of al qaeda is gone but his organization is not. we know our enemy is widespread and motivated. the truth is it may be more motivated today than it was yesterday. our troops continue to fight. our intelligence professionals continue to work. their families continue to sacrifice. we continue to support all of them and support each other. we als
president obama insisted that we refocus on afghanistan and pakistan as the center of battlefields in our fight against terrorism. there was tremendous military, diplomatic and economic efforts are the reason we woke up this morning to the world that is no longer home to osama bin laden. the end of his life is not the end of the fight. yesterday's operation is indeed a measure of justice. it is only one measure of justice. it absolutely is a definitive victory but it does not define absolute...
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Jan 24, 2011
01/11
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forces afghanistan. facilitators is a critical component, are a critical component of the reconstruction of the afghanistan security forces are the building of the afghanistan security forces. since 2005,$11.4 billion has been made available or is in intended for the security forces infrastructure. much of this money has come by way of appropriations since 2005 through 2010, and will also include appropriations yet to be approved for 2012. $7 billion of this money is appropriated or will have been appropriated between 2010 and 2012. we have constructed 34 overall audits in sigar. of which, ten of these audits have been focused on addressing infrastructure projects. they have essentially covered garrisons for afghanistan national army, compound forest afghanistan national police, and the reconstruction efforts under the auspices of the commanders energy response program. designed primarily to provide immediate assistance to the population of afghanistan. we have over 90 investigations under way involving
forces afghanistan. facilitators is a critical component, are a critical component of the reconstruction of the afghanistan security forces are the building of the afghanistan security forces. since 2005,$11.4 billion has been made available or is in intended for the security forces infrastructure. much of this money has come by way of appropriations since 2005 through 2010, and will also include appropriations yet to be approved for 2012. $7 billion of this money is appropriated or will have...
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Sep 13, 2011
09/11
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embassy in afghanistan. her comments came at the beginning of this news conference, releasing a updated congressional mandated report on religious freedom around the world. later assistant secretary of state michael posner and international ambassador for religious freedom susan cook johnson took questions from reporters. this is about 35 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. here with me today are michael posner, our assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor. suzanne johnson cook, our ambassador at large for international religious freedom and members of their teams. they will brief you on our efforts to promote religious freedom and we'll take your questions afterwards. before i begin, on this important topic i want to address the situation in afghanistan where there was an attack on our embassy in kabul today. it appears that a number of afghan civilians have been hurt and we of course will do all we can to assist them. there are no reports of casualties among embassy personnel at this time.
embassy in afghanistan. her comments came at the beginning of this news conference, releasing a updated congressional mandated report on religious freedom around the world. later assistant secretary of state michael posner and international ambassador for religious freedom susan cook johnson took questions from reporters. this is about 35 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. here with me today are michael posner, our assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor. suzanne...
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May 18, 2011
05/11
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i've seen your pride and i was in of all places, afghanistan. i was in bagram thanking our troops for their service and giving a shout out to the army, navy, air force and went back someone shouted out, and coast guard! there was no ocean inside. [applause] not a body of water visible anywhere. [laughter] but the coast guard was they are serving with honor as you have in every major conflict in our nations over five. in fact, is the professionalism of the coast guard and enlisted personnel and they include admiral stephen rochon who warned the uniform and became chief usher at the white house and writing things in his day in day out. first grandson, patrick is graduated today and i'm told patrick's classmates have a bet on whether his grandfather can still fit in his uniform. [laughter] well, admiral stephen rochon this year. i want to do thank him for his outstanding service to the nation. and by the way, the uniform still fits. [applause] i would add that my wife is inspired by the coast guard is low. last summer michelle was the first first l
i've seen your pride and i was in of all places, afghanistan. i was in bagram thanking our troops for their service and giving a shout out to the army, navy, air force and went back someone shouted out, and coast guard! there was no ocean inside. [applause] not a body of water visible anywhere. [laughter] but the coast guard was they are serving with honor as you have in every major conflict in our nations over five. in fact, is the professionalism of the coast guard and enlisted personnel and...
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Jul 5, 2011
07/11
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they came to afghanistan not because they were attacked but because we were attacked. they were our friends, they're our allies. they've been with us trying to make sure afghanistan never goes back into the darkness, a place to attack us or them again. so when they need us, i would tell president obama, now's not the time to sit on the sidelines. i know we're a war weary nation, but there is no upside to qadhafi staying in power. that is a national security nightmare for this country. here's a recent headline. "qadhafi threatens to attack european over airstrikes. colonel qadhafi has threat inned to carry out attacks against homes, offices in europe unless nato calls off the airstrikes in libya." he actually means it. hitler meant it. he means it. so we should be talking about the debt. we're not. we should be taking a stand against qadhafi in an effective way. and as you said, senator mccain, we're leading from behind. and i just cannot tell you how upset i am with policies coming from this administration that are sending a signal to our allies that we're not as relia
they came to afghanistan not because they were attacked but because we were attacked. they were our friends, they're our allies. they've been with us trying to make sure afghanistan never goes back into the darkness, a place to attack us or them again. so when they need us, i would tell president obama, now's not the time to sit on the sidelines. i know we're a war weary nation, but there is no upside to qadhafi staying in power. that is a national security nightmare for this country. here's a...
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Apr 19, 2011
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-afghanistan relationship document. the nato handover i think is going to be conducted in a different forum but i do think the reason they handover has been so smooth is that the political situation on the ground changed fairly dramatically by the end of 2008 in iraq and allowed for the smooth transition and drawdown we've seen since then. it is going to be important that not just that the capabilities of the afghan governance and security forces improve between now and 2014 but also that the taliban becomes less capable over that same time period. we're doing some pretty good work in making that happen. >> if i would add, it is not just the security agreement but in iraq also there was a separate strategic framework agreement which sent the signal of enduring support and cooperation on a range of issues including police and security work and the state department and also economic development in a range of things. the state department, now the ball is starting to be in their court especially if this transition is execut
-afghanistan relationship document. the nato handover i think is going to be conducted in a different forum but i do think the reason they handover has been so smooth is that the political situation on the ground changed fairly dramatically by the end of 2008 in iraq and allowed for the smooth transition and drawdown we've seen since then. it is going to be important that not just that the capabilities of the afghan governance and security forces improve between now and 2014 but also that the...
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Apr 14, 2011
04/11
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has the administration's focus in libya distracted it from our efforts in iraq and afghanistan? we committed huge amounts of blood and treasure to success in both of those countries and i think congress needs to know and we need to have a fullsome debate about whether this mission in libya has distracted from those other two vital missions. we also need to talk about whether nato's peformance in libya jeopardies its effectiveness and reputation. is there a risk the alliance is already splitting because of caveats and restrictions some of the coalition members are making on their participation in the intervention in libya? and finally, i think we need to know because certainly everything that happens is precedent for some future action, whether there really is something that you might call an obama doctrine. is it that the u.s. will use military force when requested by our allies like france or perhaps organizations like the arab league's or the united nations but not otherwise? is it something like the united states will protect civilians when they capture the world's media atte
has the administration's focus in libya distracted it from our efforts in iraq and afghanistan? we committed huge amounts of blood and treasure to success in both of those countries and i think congress needs to know and we need to have a fullsome debate about whether this mission in libya has distracted from those other two vital missions. we also need to talk about whether nato's peformance in libya jeopardies its effectiveness and reputation. is there a risk the alliance is already splitting...
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May 12, 2011
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presence in afghanistan was in kabul. they were in pretty benign environments with a strong sense of a property peg in the south that needed to be nipped in the bud. they were strong in momentum of us coming out of london for us to get engaged in this in a very constructive way. there was no sense of commitment here. after all, the ark head jr. quarters had -- headquarters had been identified as the sort of level of commitment they needed to galvanize the results within the tolerance of the americans who proceed their operation during freedom process in the south and the east to nato command. that level of competence implied the national commitment. down at the regional level with a light presence prior to our planning to this, it was put on us to try to work with the other nations that were going to be part of this effort in the south to start putting together the concept of operations and that was done in pj's cue. the canadians were very clear their ambitions was to play a dominant role in this and felt that kandahar b
presence in afghanistan was in kabul. they were in pretty benign environments with a strong sense of a property peg in the south that needed to be nipped in the bud. they were strong in momentum of us coming out of london for us to get engaged in this in a very constructive way. there was no sense of commitment here. after all, the ark head jr. quarters had -- headquarters had been identified as the sort of level of commitment they needed to galvanize the results within the tolerance of the...
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Jun 23, 2011
06/11
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afghanistan? o the my view of our forces they see the face of the enemy cannothey believe they've got a strategy too that's working and they don't want their kids to go back. so when you use the troops is a reason to shortcut this work, it don't think you're really listening to what they say and what they do.ere if they thought they wered a exhausted and hopeless, theynge would change careers. changes much as we have in the last year. achied the successes we have achieved will be compromise for no good reason. both of us believe you could atu the end of 2012 if you do this right, reno's forces.e'll have this season and the next in the best chance lies in our lifetime general petraeus has been trying to tell the country and thebilit president to give the ability tt take the fight to the east ofoif the south and friends to troops point of view, the reason they t go to afghanistan and iraq over and over again and theyhe understand this enemy bettercap than uni. they see what the enemy is capable of d
afghanistan? o the my view of our forces they see the face of the enemy cannothey believe they've got a strategy too that's working and they don't want their kids to go back. so when you use the troops is a reason to shortcut this work, it don't think you're really listening to what they say and what they do.ere if they thought they wered a exhausted and hopeless, theynge would change careers. changes much as we have in the last year. achied the successes we have achieved will be compromise for...
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Sep 2, 2011
09/11
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iraq and afghanistan tested our men and women in uniform. they have fested the resilience and agility of our institutional military, and they have tested our nation' resolve, but by acting on his belief that the most powerful weapon, the most powerful tool any soldier carries is not his weapon, but his mind, general petraeus redefined how america fought those wars. the revolution, doctrine, and tactics he inspired not only delivered iraq from the clutches of violence, but has given the people of afghanistan a fighting chance to determine their future. general petraeus succeeded because of the skill as a soldier and his brilliance as a strategist propelled him at each step of his career. cadet petraeus distinguished himself at west point. soldier petraeus stood out in every command he held. dr. petraeus was commissioned as a political strategist at princeton. professor petraeus taught on the fault of west point. strategist petraeus made his mark on army doctrine with counterinsurgency that you've heard of, and general petraeus led our forces
iraq and afghanistan tested our men and women in uniform. they have fested the resilience and agility of our institutional military, and they have tested our nation' resolve, but by acting on his belief that the most powerful weapon, the most powerful tool any soldier carries is not his weapon, but his mind, general petraeus redefined how america fought those wars. the revolution, doctrine, and tactics he inspired not only delivered iraq from the clutches of violence, but has given the people...
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Jan 10, 2011
01/11
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that this is not what you said right afghanistan, there's no lack of courage in afghanistan. there's a lack of resources and training and the image that now the international community has the afghans. you do us the favor. you are not doing the favor to afghans, you are there, so this image should come from both sides, not only there that you are focusing in afghanistan. i believe part of my job is also, in washington, is very difficult when i see that most of the people they do not understand in the mission of afghanistan. the language that they use, they are not well informed. even our leaders, they are using the wrong terms which are very sensitive of our culture like the words mentor, coach, and all of this stuff which would give completely different meaning in our pull culture. it's not a playground. all of these words to make the strategies to be our politicians , your politicians to set up thinking. >> just to rephrase, all of the work in afghanistan, and it's not being carry through to america. >> that's why i'm standing here today to try to start communicating about
that this is not what you said right afghanistan, there's no lack of courage in afghanistan. there's a lack of resources and training and the image that now the international community has the afghans. you do us the favor. you are not doing the favor to afghans, you are there, so this image should come from both sides, not only there that you are focusing in afghanistan. i believe part of my job is also, in washington, is very difficult when i see that most of the people they do not understand...
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Apr 15, 2011
04/11
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afghanistan is no acception. children in afghanistan have one the worst chances of survival in the world. one out of every five dies before the age of five, mostly due to preventible causes. that's not to say that progress isn't being made. infant mortality, and many more children in school than ten years ago. there are still millions of school-aged kids not getting an education. afghanistan is a really tough place to be a child despite donor engagement, and despite the provision of significant humanitarian, and development assistance. adopting the smart development approach that we've outlined in our paper can change the circumstances. a brief word about save the children. we've worked with afghans for over 30 years, and through a staff that's about 98% afghan, we provide protection, health, and nutrition, and education programming directly through our own staff and another dozen or so through partners. that's an example of one stream, we work with families, communities, health care workers, in homes and health
afghanistan is no acception. children in afghanistan have one the worst chances of survival in the world. one out of every five dies before the age of five, mostly due to preventible causes. that's not to say that progress isn't being made. infant mortality, and many more children in school than ten years ago. there are still millions of school-aged kids not getting an education. afghanistan is a really tough place to be a child despite donor engagement, and despite the provision of significant...
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Sep 26, 2011
09/11
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waiver program for iraq and afghanistan veterans. we have a program working with the guard and reservists focus on local communities and their yellow ribbon program to quit a program for women veterans and military spouses that we are working with business professional women's foundation to create a network of 10,000 women in business mentors because those populations have issues also. listen, my wife served with me for 15 years. when we say hiring our heroes, a lot of people sake don't use the term he was picked its overuse. trust me, spouses, 93% of whom are wise are that he was picked people cannot forget that in any program that helps veteran should also have spouses get jobs because most of our men and women are leading the military had the dual incomes when they go back to the committee across the country. and the last thing we are working on is a program for wounded warriors which is really why we are here today. the chamber will do this in a very measured way. there's lots of people talk about doing programs for wounded warri
waiver program for iraq and afghanistan veterans. we have a program working with the guard and reservists focus on local communities and their yellow ribbon program to quit a program for women veterans and military spouses that we are working with business professional women's foundation to create a network of 10,000 women in business mentors because those populations have issues also. listen, my wife served with me for 15 years. when we say hiring our heroes, a lot of people sake don't use the...
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May 10, 2011
05/11
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they pledge allegiance to afghanistan that afghanistan will take them back. there has been political solution to this figure and i think that this gives us great opportunity and i think president karzai and the afghanistan's look at it as well. to tell you the truth come i hope it does. the afghan people deserve this opportunity to live a better life in reintegration is going to go a long way. >> hi, general, jim dear mel. when i spoke to last item you are talking about cooperation with the pakistani 11 court they think it was. i'm wondering if there was a change and not since the dimension killed in london? and are the pakistani starting to cooperate on taking down the haqqani network at least along the border region? >> thanks for the question. yeah, we've been working the border piece very hard since day one we got here. we've been working on a relationship with my counterpart tear come into leavenworth, frontier scouts. i've been to pakistan several times. he is, for to afghanistan, taken counterparts. i think the tactical operation level, that cooperatio
they pledge allegiance to afghanistan that afghanistan will take them back. there has been political solution to this figure and i think that this gives us great opportunity and i think president karzai and the afghanistan's look at it as well. to tell you the truth come i hope it does. the afghan people deserve this opportunity to live a better life in reintegration is going to go a long way. >> hi, general, jim dear mel. when i spoke to last item you are talking about cooperation with...
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Apr 11, 2011
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>> in afghanistan, yes, sir. and another set of numbers worth noting and i mentioned them to one of your colleagues of killed in action there been sadly over 1400 u.s. so 221 would expect about 700 of the allies and 900 allies have fallen so they are in this fight with us and taking losses and i believe making a significant contribution. >> my staff handed me an article that quote general caldwell of the training commission who said that nato still faces a shortage of 740 trainers needed to train afghan soldiers and policemen so assuming that nato is able to handle its commitment in afghanistan, could you explain if in fact nato does decide to deploy stabilization forces, that means boats on the ground, and in libya that would include u.s. troops under nato command, wouldn't it? >> if nato decided to deploy troops, whether or not the united states decided to participate with troops would be a national decision for the united states let me turn it around in terms of the no-fly zone that we are enforcing right now,
>> in afghanistan, yes, sir. and another set of numbers worth noting and i mentioned them to one of your colleagues of killed in action there been sadly over 1400 u.s. so 221 would expect about 700 of the allies and 900 allies have fallen so they are in this fight with us and taking losses and i believe making a significant contribution. >> my staff handed me an article that quote general caldwell of the training commission who said that nato still faces a shortage of 740 trainers...
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Sep 30, 2011
09/11
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finally, above all, how will the government of afghanistan and businesses in afghanistan leadership in afghanistan continue their engagement were they've after all been the pioneers of this and the years to come us in the changing environment in which the country assumption. so obvious and many many other -- much more plentiful questions i'll have to be addressed, we hope, to be one of the settings in which that might occur. thank you very much for [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> up next former russia specialist who served in the state department and the national security council under george w. bush, talk about that country's relationship with the u.s. also discuss the complex and, interests of both countries across the former soviet union. the ambassador of cast extend joined this event. it was held following the announcement of former russian president vladimir putin will return for a third term. this is just over 90 minutes. >> welcome to the center for the nation interest. we have a distinguished panel, an
finally, above all, how will the government of afghanistan and businesses in afghanistan leadership in afghanistan continue their engagement were they've after all been the pioneers of this and the years to come us in the changing environment in which the country assumption. so obvious and many many other -- much more plentiful questions i'll have to be addressed, we hope, to be one of the settings in which that might occur. thank you very much for [inaudible conversations] [inaudible...
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Feb 24, 2011
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they come home from afghanistan. they want to go out with their family. you don't go into the military to make a lot of money and so you're not going to be a big landowner perhaps if you're a career military officer but having access to these great places in america is important. can the interior department work with the department of defense in any way to get a connection between going when soldiers come back using the land, special programs between defense and interior? >> absolutely. and we have been doing that, making sure that there's opportunities for our military personnel coming back, for veterans to access our public lands and provide lots of programs for them. we are one of the lead agencies in terms of providing job opportunities for our military personnel coming back from afghanistan and iraq. it's something that we take -- we take very seriously. it's also -- if i may note on rural america. 40% of our people who go into the military are actually people who come from the rural parts of the united states of america. so even though i think 16% o
they come home from afghanistan. they want to go out with their family. you don't go into the military to make a lot of money and so you're not going to be a big landowner perhaps if you're a career military officer but having access to these great places in america is important. can the interior department work with the department of defense in any way to get a connection between going when soldiers come back using the land, special programs between defense and interior? >> absolutely....
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Jun 21, 2011
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depend upon a strong and durable army and police in afghanistan. second, much work remains in pakistan. in senate hearings and meetings with u.s. and pakistani officials, i have questioned pakistan's full commitment to addressing the extremist threat within its borders. for example, pakistan has done little to stop the flow of bomb components across the border into afghanistan where they are used against our troops. terrorists in pakistan have the capability to strike internationally and have done so in recent years. these terrorists are also the central threat to the pakistani state itself. a concern that grows as pakistan inexplicably expands its nuclear arsenal. the pakistani people have suffered greatly in the struggle against these extremist groups as thousands of civilians and security forces have died. this is precisely why it is so unfortunate that the pakistani government is not fully committed to confronting this threat. i have been very patient with respect to this critical relationship, but i'm compelled to speak the truth when the stak
depend upon a strong and durable army and police in afghanistan. second, much work remains in pakistan. in senate hearings and meetings with u.s. and pakistani officials, i have questioned pakistan's full commitment to addressing the extremist threat within its borders. for example, pakistan has done little to stop the flow of bomb components across the border into afghanistan where they are used against our troops. terrorists in pakistan have the capability to strike internationally and have...
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Jun 24, 2011
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forces in afghanistan. the house armed services committee herd from joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen who supports president obama's plan to reduce troops in afghanistan. starting next months, 10,000 troops will be returning home by the end of the year, and a total of 33,000 troops by the end of september. >> the decision to withdraw 10,000 troops from afghanistan by the end of the year, and the remaining 23,000 serge forces by next summer. my position on the war effort has remained consistent. afghanistan's stability is vital to our national security. any removal of forces should be based on conditions on the ground and consistent with the advice of our senior military leaders. based on the president's speech last night, it's not clear to me that this decision was based on either. at west point in 2009, the president committed to a comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy in afghanistan by serging # 3,000 -- 33,000 troops. every witness in the committee testified this is beginning to bear fruit by
forces in afghanistan. the house armed services committee herd from joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen who supports president obama's plan to reduce troops in afghanistan. starting next months, 10,000 troops will be returning home by the end of the year, and a total of 33,000 troops by the end of september. >> the decision to withdraw 10,000 troops from afghanistan by the end of the year, and the remaining 23,000 serge forces by next summer. my position on the war effort has...
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Feb 18, 2011
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and afghanistan. i think we learned that preempting spoilers will require knowing more about the economics of the actors in the conflict which are causing changes in interest to emerge. so i would just conclude by saying that maybe in addition to minna's arguments about the need to open a process and with the shape that might look like, the u.s. is involved in has to be underpinned by a clear and strong commitment to that process. to my mind this means we need to articulate within unisys a couple of things. one is a durable political summit among active actors within afghanistan is possible. and secondly that such an uncommon is essential to sustain the meeting the president's core aim to prevent the recurrence of al qaeda and other groups to the region. if those two realizations can be made it becomes more obvious that using diplomatic means to seek a diplomatic process that is durable within afghanistan will be the most effective way to do much, much more with much less both in terms of blood and tr
and afghanistan. i think we learned that preempting spoilers will require knowing more about the economics of the actors in the conflict which are causing changes in interest to emerge. so i would just conclude by saying that maybe in addition to minna's arguments about the need to open a process and with the shape that might look like, the u.s. is involved in has to be underpinned by a clear and strong commitment to that process. to my mind this means we need to articulate within unisys a...
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Apr 25, 2011
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a lot of stuff going on in afghanistan. but there's been meet with north korea between north korea sending signals it will begin misbehaving again because it sees us as militarily overextended. and by the way, there will be no strategy at all to get north korea to give up its nuclear weapons system because we just invaded a country that had nuclear weapons, and systems and programs. so the distance is that now have become huge for other governments in the future, the whole calculus has changed. answer negotiations with north korea to get rid of nuclear arms, fundamentally don't make sense. i just want to bring this up as well. i think it's important -- >> it was an important year. that's when iran stopped working on a nuclear weapon. and i thought i heard you admit that, but i guess i was wrong. >> two points. sorry about that. gadhafi, mubarak. i can keep these muslim names straight. and no, i -- liberals were wrong about ahmadinejad giving up his nuclear program. remember, that's another thing they lied about. we kept hea
a lot of stuff going on in afghanistan. but there's been meet with north korea between north korea sending signals it will begin misbehaving again because it sees us as militarily overextended. and by the way, there will be no strategy at all to get north korea to give up its nuclear weapons system because we just invaded a country that had nuclear weapons, and systems and programs. so the distance is that now have become huge for other governments in the future, the whole calculus has changed....
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Oct 13, 2011
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chris most recently served with the first of the two 21st calvary in afghanistan, earning his combat spurs during this tour. the decorations and badges earned over his distinguished career would include the combat action badge, the meritorious unit commendation, the legion of merit, the meritorious service medal, the army commendation medal, the army achievement medal, the armed forces expeditionary medal, the southwest asia service medal and the afghanistan campaign medal. chris is remembered now as a soft-spoken warrior with a love for fixing things. a fellow soldier and friend, master sergeant paul kinsey made reference to his misdemeanor. quote -- "i can't just label him with one word or one phrase. still waters run deep." unquote. the rege family laid their soldier to rest in paige, nebraska, on september 17, 2011. today i join the family and friends of master sergeant rege in mourning the death of their son, father, fiance, friend and fellow soldier. nebraska is honored to call him one of our own, and i know that both nebraskans and nevadans will surround his family during this
chris most recently served with the first of the two 21st calvary in afghanistan, earning his combat spurs during this tour. the decorations and badges earned over his distinguished career would include the combat action badge, the meritorious unit commendation, the legion of merit, the meritorious service medal, the army commendation medal, the army achievement medal, the armed forces expeditionary medal, the southwest asia service medal and the afghanistan campaign medal. chris is remembered...
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Feb 1, 2011
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pakistan, afghanistan. the borders are 50, 60, 70 years old in cases and they're still unregulationed. i would begin with but china's part of this and i'd look at arms control. india and pakistan are acquiring the capacity to blow themselves up many, many times over. in my last lecture i spoke to both colleges and said you could be consent killing 50 million pakistanis or indians. that should be enough to keep them out of your back pocket. i said, it's not how much weapons you have. of the other side you kill. that was satisfy for the french in terms of soviets. you should be satisfied for ind india. and to look at us and our relationships, they've learn more is bet perp we're trying to undo misjudgments of deck dadad while we see this. hundreds of weapons, comes as no prize. areas where we have a legitimate important role to play in terms of normalizing the relationship between pakistan and its neighbors. especially in afghanistan. how do we do this? i'm not sure. i do think, ta take up a suggestion of bru
pakistan, afghanistan. the borders are 50, 60, 70 years old in cases and they're still unregulationed. i would begin with but china's part of this and i'd look at arms control. india and pakistan are acquiring the capacity to blow themselves up many, many times over. in my last lecture i spoke to both colleges and said you could be consent killing 50 million pakistanis or indians. that should be enough to keep them out of your back pocket. i said, it's not how much weapons you have. of the...
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Apr 11, 2011
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in both cases of pakistan and afghanistan. and that we were in the midst of programs that instead of being parallel, were actually raising standards and stiffening the spines, if you will, providing a sort of skeleton to support local development. and so for example, in the national agriculture program we are working with the ministry at the village level. it's not a parallel system. it's intrinsically linked to the ministry. so there's another program that was mentioned which was an education program. that is coming to an end, not because we can't continue to run it, and do a good job at a, i think we could, but because the sense is the time of the ministry of education to step forward and take that on even though all my code stepping the ministry of education cannot take that object to we've talked to ambassador about this and we talk to folks at a.i.d. about this. but i think that the pressure to shift right now is quite dominant stuff let me ask either mr. mcgarry or mr. bowers a further question on when we oversee an elec
in both cases of pakistan and afghanistan. and that we were in the midst of programs that instead of being parallel, were actually raising standards and stiffening the spines, if you will, providing a sort of skeleton to support local development. and so for example, in the national agriculture program we are working with the ministry at the village level. it's not a parallel system. it's intrinsically linked to the ministry. so there's another program that was mentioned which was an education...
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Feb 14, 2011
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mission in afghanistan. our corporation is a global provider of power, water, communications, and other infrastructure. as part of the worldwide reach, the company proudly supported u.s. government projects for more than 90 years. since august 2006 as a partner in the group black and veatch venture, we assisted the client in develops essential energy infrastructure in order to improve the economy and quality of life for the people of afghanistan. from 2006 until today, total megawatts of power generation available for afghanistan have more than doubled, and us aid projects contributed to 90% of that increase. in december 2010, us-aid awarded them a separate contract for the helmond project for distribution in the south for the support of u.s. government policy. working in support of the mission to increase energy delivery to afghan's people and with afghan government organizations, black and veatch's dedicated professionals has successes. we provided advice to the government in negotiating power agreements w
mission in afghanistan. our corporation is a global provider of power, water, communications, and other infrastructure. as part of the worldwide reach, the company proudly supported u.s. government projects for more than 90 years. since august 2006 as a partner in the group black and veatch venture, we assisted the client in develops essential energy infrastructure in order to improve the economy and quality of life for the people of afghanistan. from 2006 until today, total megawatts of power...
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Jun 6, 2011
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i'm sorry, in afghanistan. that is a very, very large number. >> when you travel -- >> and, and to do, and even that 4900 number you have to add about a 50% factor for training and movement. >> well -- >> none of us are going to have in a s.w.a.t. team of that size, and so we really do have to work, and this goes back to -- >> well, we're thinking that that may be foolish. it may endanger our embassies, may endanger our goodwill, and we believe that the expense may be worth it to have a cadre that you can turn to quickly. because the bottom line is you're stuck with them. and that shouldn't be. let me just make an argument for you to rethink your opposition to -- >> if i might, i just look -- i read my -- it's 7 60. 4981 is a grand total for all overseas, so it's 760. but even that when you add rotation is over a thousand personnel, and we are simply do not, are not funded or programmed to have that kind of a reserve force available for immediate -- >> you are not, and the question should you be and we would ar
i'm sorry, in afghanistan. that is a very, very large number. >> when you travel -- >> and, and to do, and even that 4900 number you have to add about a 50% factor for training and movement. >> well -- >> none of us are going to have in a s.w.a.t. team of that size, and so we really do have to work, and this goes back to -- >> well, we're thinking that that may be foolish. it may endanger our embassies, may endanger our goodwill, and we believe that the expense may...
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Apr 19, 2011
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military strategy in afghanistan. two panels will look, first, at counterinsurgency and then options to negotiate peace in afghanistan. this is expected to last until about 3 this afternoon. >> i'm rudy deleon, senior vice president here at the center for american progress. this is the first of two panels that we're going to be doing on afghanistan today, and it's part of a series. it's april 2011, we're coming up on the ten-year mark of this fall in afghanistan, and so i think it's a time both to focus on current activities in the theater, but also to start asking questions in terms of the lessons learned. the ten-year milestone of combat activities is a bit unique in terms of the armed forces of the united states in terms of time and length. and so we have with our program here today, part one will look at counterinsurgency and some of the lessons learned on the security side. and then panel number two, which will be chaired and moderated by our colleague at the center, dr. larry korb and jeff lawyer rememberty of t
military strategy in afghanistan. two panels will look, first, at counterinsurgency and then options to negotiate peace in afghanistan. this is expected to last until about 3 this afternoon. >> i'm rudy deleon, senior vice president here at the center for american progress. this is the first of two panels that we're going to be doing on afghanistan today, and it's part of a series. it's april 2011, we're coming up on the ten-year mark of this fall in afghanistan, and so i think it's a...
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Nov 22, 2011
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as afghanistan is concerned? >> i think stability in afghanistan has a number of factors. obviously, the safe haven that some of the insur gents enjoy in pakistan is a contributing factor, there are several other variables to be addressed by the government of afghanistan and the afghan security forces with our support, and i'd say that the pakistan and afghanistan leadership are involved at all levels in healthy dialogue. i certainly see it with the military leaders that i work with, and as i mentioned, the regional board of coordination meeting that the afghan board of police led with the 11th corp. of the pakistan military, and so i think the two countries are in dialogue, and they have a lot of respect for each other, and i know you understand fully that during the soviet eras, there was a lot of the leaders here in afghanistan that were protected in pakistan, and they have never forgotten that, so the two countries clearly have a lot of commonground that they lean on. >> general, this is sort of a -- sort of
as afghanistan is concerned? >> i think stability in afghanistan has a number of factors. obviously, the safe haven that some of the insur gents enjoy in pakistan is a contributing factor, there are several other variables to be addressed by the government of afghanistan and the afghan security forces with our support, and i'd say that the pakistan and afghanistan leadership are involved at all levels in healthy dialogue. i certainly see it with the military leaders that i work with, and...
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Mar 7, 2011
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forces in afghanistan. secretary gates told this committee a few weeks ago that he supported the decision to set the july 2011 date because it was necessary to, quote, grab the attention of the afghan leadership and bring a sense of urgency to them of the need for them to step up to the plate, to take ownership of the war and to recruit their own young men to fight. closed quote. admiral mullen said at the same hearing that the date, quote -- that that july 2011 date -- quote, has given the afghans a sense of urgency that they didn't have before the decision was made. the afghan army and police have added 70,000 afghan security forces over the last year and will meet the current target of 305,000 afghan security forces by october of this year. a large, capable, effective afghan security presence is what the taliban fears the most. because it would demonstrate that contrary to the taliban's propaganda that the war against the taliban and al-qaeda is a war the afghan people believe in, and it is being fought
forces in afghanistan. secretary gates told this committee a few weeks ago that he supported the decision to set the july 2011 date because it was necessary to, quote, grab the attention of the afghan leadership and bring a sense of urgency to them of the need for them to step up to the plate, to take ownership of the war and to recruit their own young men to fight. closed quote. admiral mullen said at the same hearing that the date, quote -- that that july 2011 date -- quote, has given the...
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Apr 18, 2011
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afghanistan all girls are all essentially. entrance of into coordination pashtun most would find in a developer context are simply extraordinary difficult to accomplish. i mean, the panelists here represent organizations that routinely meet, totally share some of that. in some cases the u.n. believes that cause with the government is either too weak or nonexistent. and in some cases we have seen in other places you may share that information with a military force, such as a prt. often we would share that with the prts. frankly, there are so many actors of competing interests, and contractors are one of these actors that unless they complete that deliverable they will not be reimbursed. they don't care the end of the day if the farmer has been disincentivize to do something voluntarily because that's a data point they have to accomplish. so, the u.s. officer may not even be aware that mercy corps already has a pre-existing a.i.d. program to that initiative here so i would say there is a donor requirement that they collaborate a
afghanistan all girls are all essentially. entrance of into coordination pashtun most would find in a developer context are simply extraordinary difficult to accomplish. i mean, the panelists here represent organizations that routinely meet, totally share some of that. in some cases the u.n. believes that cause with the government is either too weak or nonexistent. and in some cases we have seen in other places you may share that information with a military force, such as a prt. often we would...
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Apr 21, 2011
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i agree -- i mean, in afghanistan. i agree you should not give it away, you know, right in the beginning, but if you send a signal that you don't keep that agreement, particularly where there's people in iraq who didn't want you there, i think that's going to have an impact on the negotiations, so i don't think anybody's focused on that at this point. >> thank you, larry? >> gentleman in the fourth row. >> i'm joseph, a private citizen from chicago. my question regards the much wanted and now never heard about northern alliance. they are armed, assume they are armed, what is their role in any fighting on conflict with the taliban, and also has there been any good effort or good success in creating the afghan security forces with a larger element to them? >> okay. in the front row here please. >> i'm dan caldwell. i want to ask dr. korb and ambassador vendrell what the biggest surprises were for you in your service here on this commission. >> and all the way in the back? >> one question i have is that -- >> name. >> bil
i agree -- i mean, in afghanistan. i agree you should not give it away, you know, right in the beginning, but if you send a signal that you don't keep that agreement, particularly where there's people in iraq who didn't want you there, i think that's going to have an impact on the negotiations, so i don't think anybody's focused on that at this point. >> thank you, larry? >> gentleman in the fourth row. >> i'm joseph, a private citizen from chicago. my question regards the...
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May 10, 2011
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jones came from pakistan, not afghanistan. the regional epicenter of terrorism is not afghanistan. it's highly unlikely that we would see a terrorist attack on the united states emanating from afghanistan. the risk is somewhat different. it's that instability of afghanistan contributes to a regional pattern of instability and that can undermine the stability of pakistan and that can significantly raise the threat. and it isn't just the threat of terrorism. it's also the threat of nuclear confrontation with india, of state collapse and a variety of other problems associated with changes in the security environment in pakistan. so i think the chances that al-qaeda, for example, would move back to afghanistan and set up a base, if we were to leave, are relatively slim. what's more than likely is that there would be increased asset available to both the pakistani and afghan taliban. there would be increased alliance for those groups and terrorist organizations. there would be a much higher level of instability in pakistan and that could potentially lead to all these negative consequenc
jones came from pakistan, not afghanistan. the regional epicenter of terrorism is not afghanistan. it's highly unlikely that we would see a terrorist attack on the united states emanating from afghanistan. the risk is somewhat different. it's that instability of afghanistan contributes to a regional pattern of instability and that can undermine the stability of pakistan and that can significantly raise the threat. and it isn't just the threat of terrorism. it's also the threat of nuclear...
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Nov 30, 2011
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troops in afghanistan. as well as innocent civilians in afghanistan, india, and pakist pakistan. it must also be noted that the vast majority of the materials for improvised explosive devices that are maiming and killing u.s. troops in afghanistan originate within pakistan. these are facts. we cannot deny them. and any effective strategy for pakistan and afghanistan must proceed from this realistic basis. it is for this reason that i believe this amendment and this report would be extremely useful. already in response to recent pakistani activities, the administration has chosen to withhold coalition support fund reimbursements to pakistan. over the past two quarters, that withheld money amounts to roughly $600 million. and i can imagine that amid the current tensions, further administration requests to congress for reimbursement of coalition support funds for pakistan will not be forthcoming. the report requested in this amendment would seek additional information on the amounts, types and effectiveness of coalition support fund reimbursements to the government of pakistan. it a
troops in afghanistan. as well as innocent civilians in afghanistan, india, and pakist pakistan. it must also be noted that the vast majority of the materials for improvised explosive devices that are maiming and killing u.s. troops in afghanistan originate within pakistan. these are facts. we cannot deny them. and any effective strategy for pakistan and afghanistan must proceed from this realistic basis. it is for this reason that i believe this amendment and this report would be extremely...
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Oct 27, 2011
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strategy in afghanistan has been based on the belief that developing afghanistan's economy and institutions will win over the population to support the afghan government even after international forces draw down. some analysts are concerned that the afghan economy may somewhere a steep depression -- may enter a steep depression as military involvement in afghanistan winds down over the next three years. what's the u.s. take to insure that this depression does not happen, and i know you did mention a new silk road, the new central asia/south asia trading hub that we're trying to create in afghanistan. will there be job training programs and community development so that that can overtake the military action? >> thank you very much, congressman. and thanks, as always, for highlighting the important issues and security concerns coming out of africa. i thank you for that, and i join with congressman berman in saluting the life of former congressman howard wulpe who i also had the privilege of working with both in the '09s and as secretary of state. with respect to the sustainability of the afgh
strategy in afghanistan has been based on the belief that developing afghanistan's economy and institutions will win over the population to support the afghan government even after international forces draw down. some analysts are concerned that the afghan economy may somewhere a steep depression -- may enter a steep depression as military involvement in afghanistan winds down over the next three years. what's the u.s. take to insure that this depression does not happen, and i know you did...
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Mar 24, 2011
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happens in afghanistan. and they have a share community with whom they are feeling in touch. they have a big problem about drugs. and they don't like the taliban. because the talibans themselves did affect them a very badly when they were in charge in afghanistan and even killed, i think about nine to ten of the diplomats. so ignoring iran could be a big mistake. engaging it is the only way. but if not, iran and pakistan is if not even more important in terms of constructive engagement. so it's a lot of work on that. but i don't see this as a back -- show stopper at all. because they are all worried, all of them about the afghanistan that returns to kill, and none of them -- none of them wants afghanistan to go back into the hands of the taliban. the pakistanis are suffering enormously. in fact, they have been suffering more than afghanistan from their own taliban. so long answer to a very good and short question. i'm sorry. >> thank you. >> thank you. i'm a journalist with the afp news agency. i wanted to f
happens in afghanistan. and they have a share community with whom they are feeling in touch. they have a big problem about drugs. and they don't like the taliban. because the talibans themselves did affect them a very badly when they were in charge in afghanistan and even killed, i think about nine to ten of the diplomats. so ignoring iran could be a big mistake. engaging it is the only way. but if not, iran and pakistan is if not even more important in terms of constructive engagement. so it's...
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Aug 11, 2011
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we are making progress against those in afghanistan. it is my view that the civilians will have a very key role in making this happen, that it was a very wise choice on the part of the defense department to take this approach. it is very strategic. it will be effective, and it is not that expensive. so what you have is a giant effort to generate forces, and now we have invested in a way that ambassador dobbins had suggested almost exactly, to train people to go over and work at the ministry level to teach these basic what i will call business processes so that the forces can be generated when we are gone. one of the key aspects to that is understanding what the right level is and each plan is supposed to defined and state and what that looks like and from my perspective i look at all 26 plans. i met with the afghan general and the adviser to see how is it going? i would challenge them towards the end state that was defined and that was a western solution i was pretty convinced it was the wrong one because it needed to be. there was an e
we are making progress against those in afghanistan. it is my view that the civilians will have a very key role in making this happen, that it was a very wise choice on the part of the defense department to take this approach. it is very strategic. it will be effective, and it is not that expensive. so what you have is a giant effort to generate forces, and now we have invested in a way that ambassador dobbins had suggested almost exactly, to train people to go over and work at the ministry...
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Aug 10, 2011
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the progress in afghanistan is visible. last month, we began the process of transitioning security responsibility to afghan government and afghan forces. our military is working hand-in-hand with our civilian partners to secure gains made by strengthening the afghan government and by advancing economic opportunity. we're committed to working with and strengthening our afghan partners because we know that only they can get the security of their country. the afghan forces made immense strides in their professionalization and effectiveness. increasingly they are out in front securing territory, safeguarding populations, and when necessary, fighting and die for their great country and fellow countrymen. we lost eight brave afghans in this crash and pay tribute to their service and sacrifice. i met troops all across the four corners of afghanistan. i say with certainty our servicemen and women remain steadfast to the mission. we know why we are here and what's at stake. our troops are on the battlefield committed to succeed. the
the progress in afghanistan is visible. last month, we began the process of transitioning security responsibility to afghan government and afghan forces. our military is working hand-in-hand with our civilian partners to secure gains made by strengthening the afghan government and by advancing economic opportunity. we're committed to working with and strengthening our afghan partners because we know that only they can get the security of their country. the afghan forces made immense strides in...
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Jan 18, 2011
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did he ever go to afghanistan? >> not under the contract involving sigar to my knowledge. >> said the pay for him to chew claim his market value, $45,000 a month did not evolve in a high risk other than colin louis freeh's office? >> potentially, correct as far as i know, senator. >> let me also say, senator pat mr. schmidt is a registered government contractor, registered to contract with the government of the united dates as far as i understand. >> i understand, general. but the point i'm trying to make is your job is to oversee contract. your job is to set the gold standard on contracting, so you do a sole source contract, no bid. you immediately hire someone, clearly there wasn't even a vet done goes back to your attention there were questions you need to ask him about his previous service as inspector general. that's the point i'm making, general fields. that's the point i'm making. have you ever done or worked with an audit agency before you were given this job? have you ever done any audit work or been aroun
did he ever go to afghanistan? >> not under the contract involving sigar to my knowledge. >> said the pay for him to chew claim his market value, $45,000 a month did not evolve in a high risk other than colin louis freeh's office? >> potentially, correct as far as i know, senator. >> let me also say, senator pat mr. schmidt is a registered government contractor, registered to contract with the government of the united dates as far as i understand. >> i understand,...
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Jun 7, 2011
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will not chase transition in afghanistan. during a briefing on the status of the war effort he spoke via videoconference at an event hosted by the center for a new american security. this is just over an hour. >> ladies and gentlemen, the most important work in any conference tends to happen in between sessions, and weand we appreciate that by that standard this conference is a veryo successful. yurwe are deeply honored to have with us today at least in avatar form, lieutenant general davidt rodriguez, as the keynot speaker of our fifth annualnual conference. general rodriquez assume comman of the international security assistance force jointo commandt or ijc, in october 2009. he is joining us today from for, lewis washington what he is helping lieutenant general ike or get ready to assume operational responsibility forss the mission in afghanistan later this year. the tenor general rodriquez as . proud member of the famed west point class of 1976, which has done so much to help end the wars we are currently fighting. >> and
will not chase transition in afghanistan. during a briefing on the status of the war effort he spoke via videoconference at an event hosted by the center for a new american security. this is just over an hour. >> ladies and gentlemen, the most important work in any conference tends to happen in between sessions, and weand we appreciate that by that standard this conference is a veryo successful. yurwe are deeply honored to have with us today at least in avatar form, lieutenant general...
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Feb 14, 2011
02/11
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if you look at the spending for iraq and afghanistan, they're not in the base defense budget. they're in the overseas contingency operations budget. and these actually come down considerably in 2012. because of the withdrawal of troops from iraq, and if you look at the savings in that area, overall spending in defense goes down by more than 5%. now, we're not going to be able to get back into the kind of sustainable situation that we need to just by cutting discretionary spending. the budget looks at other areas as well. it looks at mandatory spending and it looks at revenue. i would like to highlight a couple of areas where we have savings in those parts of the budget. every year for the past many years action has been taken in two areas. one, the alternative minimum tax where there's a bipartisan consensus that middle class taxpayers shouldn't fall under the alternative minimum tax. another is the in medicare where there is a bipartisan consensus that we shouldn't cut what we pay doctors in the medicare program by almost 30% because if we did they might stop treating medicar
if you look at the spending for iraq and afghanistan, they're not in the base defense budget. they're in the overseas contingency operations budget. and these actually come down considerably in 2012. because of the withdrawal of troops from iraq, and if you look at the savings in that area, overall spending in defense goes down by more than 5%. now, we're not going to be able to get back into the kind of sustainable situation that we need to just by cutting discretionary spending. the budget...
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Jun 23, 2011
06/11
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afghanistan, for about 18 months we've had additional military capacity that was never known to afghanistan. to all, because of president obama's decision to send 33,000 troops at general petraeus's request. the request was for 40. but at the time i said i do appreciate president obama giving the commander the resources to do the job, but you have to do it differently. general kean is the architect of insurgency. he is a mentor of general petraeus. he and general petraeus and others came up with the strategy that succeeded in iraq. here's what's happened from my point of view. i go every three months. about two years ago i was afraid we were going to lose. how could the taliban come back with 100,000 nato forces in afghanistan? rules of engagement for nato were law enforcement rules. we were looking at this from the eyes of a law enforcement activity, and the number of american forces with a about 30,000. that wasn't enough to help build the afghan army, train and equip the afghan army, control the population, provide safety, give governance a chance to flourish through better security. tha
afghanistan, for about 18 months we've had additional military capacity that was never known to afghanistan. to all, because of president obama's decision to send 33,000 troops at general petraeus's request. the request was for 40. but at the time i said i do appreciate president obama giving the commander the resources to do the job, but you have to do it differently. general kean is the architect of insurgency. he is a mentor of general petraeus. he and general petraeus and others came up...
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Mar 18, 2011
03/11
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the overall atmosphere afghanistan? >> interesting that we have not seen anything like that in afghanistan. by and large i have not seen the same in iraq either which i continue to keep tabs on for no other reason than people keep sending me stuff. when you invest a fair amount of time in the land of the two rivers when i left iraq i said i will always have iraq and the iraqi people on my mind and in my heart and i meant it. we sacrificed a great deal there and the fact is in iraq the demonstrations have been about inadequate basic services. is not about the government or the parliament. it is about their performance and something that malaki recognized. they have a reasonably responsive -- it took some time to form the government. it is seen as their government and so the demonstrations haven't been against that. they had their say. they were able to cast a ballot and execute their democratic right. their complaints is electricity, jobs and other basic services. in afghanistan we have seen very few demonstrations. they
the overall atmosphere afghanistan? >> interesting that we have not seen anything like that in afghanistan. by and large i have not seen the same in iraq either which i continue to keep tabs on for no other reason than people keep sending me stuff. when you invest a fair amount of time in the land of the two rivers when i left iraq i said i will always have iraq and the iraqi people on my mind and in my heart and i meant it. we sacrificed a great deal there and the fact is in iraq the...
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Jan 7, 2011
01/11
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on afghanistan, i suppose people who really understand afghanistan will talk about that. they really understand it is more -- you have to place it in the context of the region. india is a factory, highly wrong but for too long we looked at it through the perspective of afghanistan itself. i think things are going very well. the law don't want to be accused of looking at this through rose spectacles but having been involved for some time i am better qualified with one or two exceptions than the u.s. armed forces to tell you that things are much better on the ground. people talk to you in a way whenever possible and say it wasn't the case unless it was a secure environment. i remember carl used to say you have to look at this for a two year or three year prison rather than one week. i promise you even five years is a big difference. i'll only wish the sort of resources were available to me in 2006 that he will be the first to acknowledge that thinking -- you can press it up a bit. what was required, to dave a call security bubble and we were going to link the -- they do not
on afghanistan, i suppose people who really understand afghanistan will talk about that. they really understand it is more -- you have to place it in the context of the region. india is a factory, highly wrong but for too long we looked at it through the perspective of afghanistan itself. i think things are going very well. the law don't want to be accused of looking at this through rose spectacles but having been involved for some time i am better qualified with one or two exceptions than the...
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Aug 31, 2011
08/11
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afghanistan first, iraq first. it makes a lot of sense unless you think we have limited oversight over these folks and when we have limited oversight, that means that money can get wasted. we have to do something about that. we also have to think about projects that we start but are not sure can be finished or sustained. our report talks about that as well. what is the point of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on projects that will then fall into disuse? and then we'll have a hobson's choice. either to let it fall into disuse and write it off as a waste or to keep spending our taxpayer money for god knows how long in order to keep the projects going. we need to avoid those sorts of things. $206 billion is a lot of money on contracting. but so is 60 billion in waste, of which a considerable amount, maybe as much as 18 billion, is pure fraud. we've got to do something about that. we need to do it for or troops, for our civilians, for our contractors and for the american people. >> i took a particular interest
afghanistan first, iraq first. it makes a lot of sense unless you think we have limited oversight over these folks and when we have limited oversight, that means that money can get wasted. we have to do something about that. we also have to think about projects that we start but are not sure can be finished or sustained. our report talks about that as well. what is the point of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on projects that will then fall into disuse? and then we'll have a hobson's...